


Lions in cages

by curl



Series: With You [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Fluff, M/M, POV Keith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-08
Updated: 2017-04-08
Packaged: 2018-10-16 13:25:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10572228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/curl/pseuds/curl
Summary: Keith and Lance get captured and have somewhat of a heart to heart in a prison cell.





	

**Author's Note:**

> title taken from one of my all time favorite songs: Lions in cages by Wolf Gang (not really a klance song but the pun is right there, i'm not gonna miss this opportunity)  
> song that actually (partially) inspired this: With you by Crystal Fighters
> 
> talk to me on tumblr :D @cargo-pilot-jane

Keith was sitting on a cold metal bench next to a big alien with skin so thick it seemed more like plates of armor covering its body. To his other side there was Lance, sitting close, practically pressing himself against Keith in an attempt to avoid touching the giant slimy blob-like alien next to him.  
But Keith didn't mind that. Lance's presence was what kept him calm and grounded, it reminded him not to make any rash decisions.

In the midst of a battle they had been separated from the rest of Team Voltron, disarmed and captured.  
Now there they were, in a prison cell inside a Galra ship, wedged inbetween aliens twice their size, who looked like they were just waiting for someone to pick a fight.

Keith scanned the cell, looking for weak spots in the bars, or just any possibility to escape.  
The small room was packed to the brim with other prisoners of all shapes and sizes, who displayed all kinds of emotions, from scared to angry, from determined to hopeless.  
His eyes met briefly with those of the armored fellow, who gave a low, displeased growl which made Keith look away quickly.  
They had no way of communicating with the others either as they had their helmets taken away before being thrown into jail.

To his surprise Lance was quiet, didn't try to blame the situation on him, and he also looked nervous, which Keith found rather unusual. He would have expected Lance to be a lot more motivated to break out of here.  
"If you have a plan now's the time," Keith said, keeping his voice low.  
Lance ignored the question but leaned even closer until his lips almost touched Keith's ear and whispered, "I'll give you ten bucks if you switch places with me."  
Keith caught a whiff of Lance's scent and it made his mind swirl for a second. How did he manage to smell good even when he was covered in sweat and dirt?

"Lance," he responded with urge as soon as his head cleared up again, but Lance didn't listen.  
"Please, this guy is so gross, I'm gonna throw up," Lance insisted while staying way too close.  
Keith leaned forward a little to get a better look at the blob guy and scrunched up his nose at the slime oozing out of the folds on his body.  
"So _I'm_ supposed to sit next to him?!", he hissed but then shook his head, indicating Lance not to answer that, "Focus, Lance, we need to find a way out of here!"

Lance frowned slightly and brought some space between them, not much, but still, and turned his head away.  
"What do you think happened to the others? Do you think they lost?", he then asked and Keith wanted to snap at him to concentrate on the task at hand, but stopped himself when he noticed how serious Lance looked.  
He found himself rather not thinking about the others, he didn't want to imagine what might have happened to them. The situation had already looked pretty dire when Lance and him got captured.

"I don't know, but we gotta get out of here and find them," Keith answered and let his eyes wander across the room again. Looking at Lance was making him uneasy, too.  
"Keith."  
At the mention of his name Keith reluctantly turned to face Lance again.  
Lance kept staring forward. "What if we don't make it out?"  
Keith furrowed his eyebrows. "Why are you saying that? We're gonna get out and we're gonna find the others. Simple."  
He knew it wasn't really all that simple, but he tried looking at it from a practical angle. Plus, they didn't have a choice, _not_ getting out was not an option.  
"But what if we don't?!" Lance retorted a little too loudly, still not looking at him, and earned another growl from the alien next to Keith.  
"Keep it down, we don't want to anger anyone," Keith said, "And where's your spirit? Now's your chance to be a hero or whatever. Come on and help me find a way out."  
He watched Lance's face closely to try and make out what was going on with him, when he noticed his lips quivering slightly.  
"I just-", Lance began but broke off, hesitant to keep talking.  
"You just what?", Keith pressed.  
Lance sighed, his breath a little shaky, and shrugged. "Being a hero sounds great, sure, but right now.. I just wanna go home."

Keith looked him over, trying to get a better understanding of his body language. He was hunched over and sort of hugging himself while still staring at a point far away.  
"Lance, come on, get a grip," he then said, getting impatient, "Now's not the time to get sentimental, we need to get to the others!"  
Finally turning to look at Keith, Lance retorted, "Fuck you, you don't tell me what to do!"  
Keith flinched, surprised by Lance's outburst, and bumped into his neighbor, who gave yet another growl but didn't move, luckily.  
Lance kept staring at him and continued, "How are we supposed to get out of here?! We have no weapons, no _lions_ and no connection to the others!"

From the other side of the room a wrinkly, muddy-green alien with a tortoise shell on its back spoke up in a croaky voice, "Keep it down over there!"  
Lance turned to him and spat, "You keep it down, grandpa!"  
"Lance, for fuck's sake!", Keith interfered and pulled him back by his shoulder.  
He felt Lance trembling underneath his grip, then he crossed his arms and pouted.  
"What's going on with you?", Keith asked, trying to stay calm despite being angry with Lance for making this a hundred times more difficult than it needed to be.

Lance sniffled and turned his head away, putting up with the sight of the blob guy rather than looking at Keith.  
Keith took the risk of another outburst and insisted, "Lance."  
"I'm done," Lance mumbled so quietly that Keith almost didn't hear it.  
"What?" Keith still had his hand on Lance's shoulder, as if he would run away otherwise.  
"I didn't ask for this and I don't give a shit about being a hero. I want to go home." He made a pause, too short for Keith to think of an answer. "Mama probably thinks I'm dead."  
Keith felt a shudder going through Lance's body when he covered his face with his hands and started sobbing quietly.

A little overwhelmed with the situation, Keith looked around helplessly, trying to make out the reactions of the other prisoners. However, crying didn't seem to be something worthy of the attention of more than about three people. Lance hadn't been the first to cry in here, after all.  
"And I might as well be," Lance continued with a shaky voice that was muffled through his hands, "Better than rotting away in a Galra prison."  
"Lance..", Keith began, but he didn't know what to say.  
Lance sniffled again and wiped over his eyes. When he let his hands sink Keith could see his reddened eyes and tear-stained cheeks, and it twisted his gut unlike anything he had ever seen before.  
"How come you're not sick of all this, anyway?", Lance asked, "Don't you wanna go home?"  
Keith shook his head slightly in confusion. "And do what? Wait around for something to happen?"  
"No, I mean home to your family-" Lance's eyes widened as he realized what he was saying. He glanced at Keith briefly and muttered, "Sorry, I forgot..."

Keith furrowed his eyebrows. "There is absolutely nothing waiting for me on earth."  
Voltron and their fight against the Galra was the only thing that gave his life any sense of purpose. Well, that, and the people he had met because of it.  
"And all the family I have is here," he continued. When he caught a glimpse of the slime seeping down from the alien next to Lance he added, "Well, not _here_ but you know.. the team.."

Lance chuckled softly. "Aw, you love us," he teased and nudged Keith with his shoulder.  
"Whatever," Keith grumbled and leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms.  
He liked to think that he was independent, but really he was just jealous of Lance and his big family, or of anyone with a family, for that matter.  
His thoughts were interrupted when Lance spoke again, leaning back as well so that their shoulders were touching.  
"Are you scared at all? Because I'm terrified right now and I'd feel kinda stupid being the only one." He tried to make it sound joking, but his voice was dry and gave away his true feelings.  
"I don't know, haven't thought about it," Keith answered with a shrug. "And aren't you oh so fearless?"  
Lance snorted quietly. "I'll let you in on a little secret; I'm scared like 99 percent of the time. I mean, we're risking our lives pretty much constantly, that's scary," his voice got more quiet when he spoke on, "And let's be real, our chances of getting out of here are close to zero."  
Keith didn't look when he heard Lance take in a deep breath, he really didn't need to see him cry again.

After a while the mood in the cell lightened a bit as more and more inmates started talking to each other, most of them seemed to find it more comforting than just waiting around in silence.  
Keith got lost in thought. What if they did get out? If they defeated the Galra? Would the others just go home to their families and leave him alone again?

"What happened to your family anyway?", Lance asked, talking a little louder now that it wasn't so quiet anymore.  
Keith turned his head and glanced over at him, caught his eyes by accident and quickly looked away again. "There's not much to tell," he said, "My dad one day just up and vanished and my mom is, you know." He didn't want to say that his mother was Galran because it would almost certainly cause a panic should someone overhear their conversation. "And when Shiro left for the Kerberos mission I was all by myself. No siblings, no relatives. None that I know of, that is.."  
He knew that his life story wasn't exactly heart-warming, but hearing himself say it out loud sounded.. just sad.  
"I'm sorry," Lance muttered.  
Keith huffed. "Don't feel sorry for me. Maybe that's why I'm not really scared. There's just not much on the line for me."  
When he felt tears creeping into his eyes he blinked a few times to keep them down. He had never cried over this and he wouldn't start now.  
"Come on, don't say that," Lance responded, leaning forward a little to look at Keith, who turned his head away. "What about us? Voltron?"  
"What about you?"  
Lance gestured vaguely, like that would help him understand. "Well..your new family. You said you love us, remember?"  
"I didn't say that!", Keith retorted.  
"But you meant it! Anyway, my point is, we'd miss you..."  
He looked at Lance again, eyebrows furrowed. "Even you?", he asked snidely. They way Lance usually showed his dislike towards him may have hurt him more than he had let on.

"Especially me!", Lance said and his eyes widened in surprise about his own words.  
Keith gave him a questioning look and he looked to the side when he continued, "I mean I'm glad we met. And I'm glad you're here. Not that I wish you torture and death, I mean I'm glad I'm not alone right now. I know we're technically not alone in here but like, they're all strangers and-"  
"I get it," Keith interrupted him to stop him from rambling, "..I'm glad, too."  
Despite their frequent arguments - which were almost always started by Lance, by the way - Keith had never hated him, even if he sometimes pretended to.  
He did wish their relationship was different. He didn't want to fight with Lance, but he didn't know how to change it. Whenever he tried, the words seemed to come out wrong and he only ended up making things worse.  
In that moment it felt like he was finally connecting with Lance, though. They just needed to get themselves captured by the Galra in order for it to work out. Easy.

"Okay, good, good..", Lance mumbled and bit his lip nervously before he asked, "Can you do me a favor, then?"  
Keith looked at him warily. "Depends."  
With his eyes cast down Lance said, "Can you hold my hand and not question it?"  
For a split second Keith thought Lance was joking, but his red cheeks and the way he looked to the side indicated that it was indeed a serious request.  
"Uh, okay," Keith answered.  
Unsure of how to proceed, he simply placed his hand between their almost touching thighs with the palm facing upwards.  
Lance glanced at him for a brief moment, as if he were surprised that Keith agreed, but then lifted his hand to intertwine his fingers with Keith's.  
"Thanks," he muttered.  
Keith felt a gentle tingle in his stomach when Lance took his hand and his heart started beating faster when his grip tightened.  
He couldn't help but question it anyway, though. Did Lance need this for comfort or was there something else to it? Not that Keith was an expert in this field, but holding hands was usually considered to be something romantic, right? And he had to admit that didn't sound so bad, doing something romantic with Lance.

They were leaning onto each other, be it just to avoid touching the grumpy aliens on either side, and Keith had to stop himself from stroking over the back of Lance's hand with his thumb.  
And as they were sitting there, waiting for something to happen, Keith tried to recall the moment when he had fallen for Lance. He couldn't, though. He could only guess that it must have happened at some point without him even noticing.  
To his surprise, there was one thought that did scare him quite a lot; dying now and never being able to explore those feelings. He never really got the chance to fall in love before, it would be a shame to let it go to waste.

"So, uh, are you feeling a little better?", Keith asked after a while in which neither of them had said a word.  
Lance smiled softly and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "Yeah." He paused, turning his head to look at Keith. "Hey, what d'you say, when we get out of here and.. all of this is over, I'll take you to meet my family? They're gonna love you."

Keith stared at him, trying to process his words.  
He didn't know what it was that made him tip, maybe the thought of being welcomed into this family, maybe the sincerity in Lance's face, but before he knew it a tear was rolling down his cheek.  
Not knowing what to do with himself he wiped over his eyes with his free hand and all he managed to get out was, "Sounds nice."  
"Hey..", Lance said calmly but he seemed slightly distraught at the sight of Keith crying.  
Hesitant, he put a hand on the back of Keith's neck and brought their faces a little closer together. In a way it created their own space, shielded from the dozens of other people in the room.

It was Keith's turn to squeeze Lance's hand as he tried to calm down. He closed his eyes and focused only on Lance, how close they were, the hand on his neck, the sound of Lance breathing..  
"Wait," Keith said and opened his eyes again to look at Lance, into his beautiful blue eyes, "Are you saying you think we can get out of here?"  
Lance shrugged lamely. "I didn't think we'd ever hold hands, yet here we are."  
"Good point," Keith responded with the corners of his mouth twitching upwards. By then he had completely forgotten that they weren't actually alone.  
"..Can you do me a favor now?", he asked as his eyes jumped between Lance's.  
Lance held his gaze. "Depends."  
Keith opened his mouth, but hesitated before he asked, "Can you kiss me and not question it?"  
He held his breath during the seconds it took for Lance to answer.  
Maybe he shouldn't have asked, this was probably going too far.  
Keith was bracing himself for a rejection.

Lance did not answer. Instead he leaned in, pulling Keith closer at the same time, and pressed their lips together, cautious and gentle.

When they separated, Keith felt his heart beating in his throat and he could only imagine that his face must have been about as red as his lion.  
Lance smiled, his eyes getting teary again, and leaned his forehead against Keith's. "We gotta get out of here," he whispered.

Suddenly, the metal bench they were sitting on started to tremble. The big armored alien rose to his feet, causing everyone else to fall silent and stare at him.  
Keith and Lance both watched him as well, still huddled together but ready to fight, or at least defend themselves.  
To everyone's surprise, though, he just said, in a deep but calm voice, "I have had enough."  
The prisoners were waiting, still scared although he sounded anything but hostile or aggressive.  
He turned his head to look down at Keith and Lance with his yellow, pupil-less eyes. "Prison is no place for love. We will leave."  
The two paladins exchanged looks, but before anyone could respond, the alien started walking towards the metal bars of the cell.  
And when he reached them he just kept walking, the bars bending and breaking under his immense strength like they were just a minor inconvenience to him.  
He turned around to everyone staring at him with wide eyes.  
Keith was the first to find his words. "Were you able to do that all along?!"  
Lance put a hand over Keith's mouth and smiled apologetically. "What he means is 'Thank you'!" To Keith he hissed, "Don't piss him off!"

"How did they catch him in the first place?", Keith whispered as they followed their new ally, who crushed all the Galra sentries in their way with ease.  
Lance took Keith's hand and smiled softly. "Maybe we shouldn't question it."


End file.
